It was a dark and stormy night. Phillip had been driving home from work and was now about an hour away from his house. He had made it the last few miles but was now in the throes of a full-blown panic attack. His breaths came in short gasps and his heart was pounding so hard, it felt like it was trying to escape his chest. He pulled to the side of the road, scattering gravel, and tried to calm himself. He closed his eyes and took several deep breaths before starting the car. He crept along the road, his car the only light in a wide and dark world. The rain continued to beat against the windshield like the footsteps of some unseen thing.
Phillip tried to turn his mind to other things, but he couldn't focus on anything. His mind kept returning to the same thing: the fact that he was all alone in this dark world. He was surrounded by darkness, and there was no one to help him. He was completely alone.
Suddenly, the car's headlights caught something in the road ahead. Phillip's heart skipped a beat as he saw the figure of a person standing in the middle of the road. He slammed on the brakes, but it was too late. The figure was hit by the car and sent flying into the ditch.
Phillip's hands trembled as he put the car in park. He slowly got out, his heart pounding in his ears. He approached the figure, dreading what he might find.
It was a young woman, and she was clearly dead. Her eyes were open and staring, and her body was twisted at an impossible angle. Phillip felt sick to his stomach, but he forced himself to look closer. He saw that she was wearing a wedding dress.
He stumbled back, away from the body, and vomited into the ditch. He staggered back to his car and got in, his hands shaking so badly he could barely turn the key. He had to get out of there. He had to get away from that body.
He drove home in a daze, his mind filled with images of the dead woman. He could still see her eyes, staring at him accusingly. He could still see her twisted body, the dress soaked with blood.
He pulled into his driveway and sat in the car for a long time, trying to calm himself. He knew he should go inside, but he couldn't make himself move. He was paralyzed by fear, by the knowledge that there was something out there in the darkness, something that had killed that woman. And it was coming for him next.